"I don't know if you've noticed, Jackson, but your wife isn't here," Julian said, taking that first puff. The rich aroma filled the air.

"It's easy to see you've never been married." He was going to have to change clothes and take a shower to get rid of the smoky smell. "Abby's always here."

Slater laughed but shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "This is why I never married. Why would I want some woman dictating my every move? I thought you were into this lifestyle, Mr. Barnes."

92.

"Which lifestyle is that?"

Slater's voice went low. "The bondage thing. The BS thing."

"Yes, Slater, I'm into the bulls.h.i.t thing." Jack would have left it at that, but Julian went into teaching mode. Sometimes Jack thought if Julian hadn't been such a righteous pervert, he would have done well at a university.

"BDSM," Julian corrected. He poured a few fingers of Scotch into a gla.s.s. Jack waved him off. Julian shrugged and continued. "It stands for bondage, sadism, and masochism. Alternately it also stands for bondage, Dominance, and submission. I believe Jackson and I are more in line with the latter. We both prefer our lovers to be submissive."

"Speak for yourself," Jack said. "Abby isn't very submissive."

Except in the bedroom. A vision of her tied to the whipping chair, her body laid out and open to him, a.s.saulted his brain.

"Really?" Julian asked, looking at him seriously. "I'm surprised to hear that. I would have said you could never be happy in a relationship that didn't involve submission on some level. I know you're not a full time Dom, but I a.s.sumed any s.e.xual relationship would be in the lifestyle."

Jack shrugged. "I can be vanilla. No woman wants to be dominated all the time." He could be very, very demanding. It wasn't fair to ask that of Abby.

"That has not been my experience, Jackson." Julian was studying him. Jack was starting to get nervous. The last thing Jack needed was Julian trying to get into his head. "I've found many women enjoy it on some level, even if it is just play. They enjoy the feeling of protection a true Dom can give them. A true Dom can shelter a woman from everything, even her own insecurities."

"Stay out of my marriage, Julian." Jack stared at his mentor.

"If only I could," he muttered under his breath.

93.

Slater took a long swallow of his Scotch. "Well, I don't understand the appeal of any of it. I wouldn't want a woman to be dependent on me for everything."

"You're not a Dom," Julian said shortly, dismissing the man. He looked like he wanted to pursue the conversation with Jack. Jack steeled himself to have a lengthy discussion with his old mentor about keeping out of his business. He was saved by the door opening.

Jack sat up a little straighter as a young man walked in the room.

Jack was pretty sure it was a young man. His hair was strangely shaped. It was black and swept over his face like it was windblown, yet he didn't try to shove it back. It stayed in place, and Jack realized this kid used hair spray. He had bangs. Why the h.e.l.l did that boy have bangs? He was dressed in a G.o.d-awful purple V-neck T-shirt. It was the type of shirt that looked hot on Abby. It showed off her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

The young man in front of him didn't have b.r.e.a.s.t.s, so why did he need to show off his chest? Jack's eyes moved down the kid's body, widening in horror. The jeans he was wearing looked like someone had painted them on the man. They were black and fit him like a second skin. He completed the look with a skinny belt that was draped over his hips. It did nothing to keep his pants up. h.e.l.l, he didn't need a belt to do that. Jack thought that man might never get the pants off, but the belt was obviously some form of decoration. Despite the low light of the room, he was wearing a pair of sungla.s.ses.

This was his brother?

The young man swaggered up to the trio. He glanced around the room with a look of cool disdain. "I've seen way better clubs than this. You Lodge?"

Julian nodded. Jack couldn't mistake the small smile on Julian's face. He was extremely amused. Jack was glad someone was having a good time. "Yes, I'm Julian Lodge."

The young man turned to Jack. "Since I know that a.s.shole in the back, that must make you Jack Barnes. I suppose I expected you to 94 show up in a cowboy hat fresh off the range. Did you leave your horse outside?"

Jack stood up. Though the young man was almost as tall as Jack, he had the slight build of a teen, compared to that of a man. Jack had fifty pounds on him at least. The kid needed some work to put muscle on his frame.

"I left my horse on my ranch," Jack said. "What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you, son? Didn't they teach manners in those fancy schools you went to? Take those d.a.m.n sungla.s.ses off when you're inside."

The sungla.s.ses came off in a flash, and Jack heard Slater's shocked gasp.

"I just thought they looked cool." Lucas Cameron sounded far less arrogant now.

"Is the fact that your pants are two sizes too small supposed to be cool, too?"

"Yes." Lucas self-consciously pulled them away from his waist.

They didn't budge. He seemed stunned that someone was talking to him the way Jack was. Jack realized, without the sungla.s.ses, that the face staring at him looked awfully familiar.

"Jackson, it's like looking at you ten years ago." Julian's focus switched between the two. It was obvious Julian was making comparisons. "I've seen him in photographs, but the two of you together, the resemblance is astonishing."

Yes, his half-brother greatly resembled him. There were, of course, a few differences. "Are you wearing makeup, son?"

"It's just a little guy-liner," Lucas mumbled.

"I don't know what that is, but my wife wears something like that.

I don't think that's meant for men." Jack was not able to keep the horror out of his voice.

Lucas suddenly stood up straight, as though surprised at his own actions. "I wouldn't expect a cowboy to know what's fashionable.

That monkey suit you're wearing is boring."

"I find it to be confining. But at least it fits."

95.

"I didn't come here to talk fashion with you, Mr. Barnes," Lucas said, puffing himself up. His dark green eyes narrowed. "I came here to talk business. Now, what the h.e.l.l is Slater doing here? Who invited my father's flunky?"

"I came down here to make sure you don't ruin your father's career." Slater's lips thinned with distaste as he looked the young man over. Jack suddenly wondered if everyone treated Lucas this way.

For some reason, Lucas reminded him of Sam. Jack sat back down, choosing, for the moment, to back off and observe. Maybe Julian was right and there was more to all of this than simple brattiness and greed. He took in the arrogant set of Lucas's eyes. It didn't match the slump of his shoulders. His feet were close together, while his arms were crossed. He was protecting himself. It was almost as though Lucas wanted to fall into himself. Yet, he was standing here in a group of very authoritative men, trying to blackmail them. It was an interesting quandary.

"If he's so concerned about his political future, then he should have paid me off," Lucas said. Jack heard a lot of bravado behind the statement, but a surprising lack of will.

"Your father isn't a fool." Slater nearly spat while he spoke. He got into Lucas's s.p.a.ce. "He knows you'll never stop asking him for money. Hasn't he paid enough?"

Lucas's lip curled up, but there was nothing humorous about his expression. "I give him all the free publicity he can handle."

"Yes, the recent articles on your various drug addictions and close calls with the law did wonders for his chances in the primaries,"

Slater shot back.

"Well, he had my sister to help. Didn't she just graduate from Harvard?"

"With her Ph.D. in law. She'll have a judgeship in no time. Your brother is already a state senator. They make your mother and father very proud. They're a.s.sets. What's wrong with you? You've had 96 every advantage, and yet all you seem capable of is doing drugs and having perverse s.e.x. There's a rumor out there that you're gay."

"I'm not gay," Lucas protested with a sneer. "Of course, I'm not straight, either."

Slater rolled his eyes. "I came here because I thought you needed a chaperone. You should never be allowed in this club. It isn't proper for anyone. Places like this shouldn't exist if you ask me. It could truly hurt your family if you were caught here."

"Should I pull the Senator's membership then?" Julian's aristocratic features were blank. Jack knew Slater was really p.i.s.sing him off.

Jack grinned, somewhat amused. "Did he join before or after we had our little chat with him?"

"Oh, after," Julian a.s.sured him. "He was quite intrigued. He stops in every time he's in the area. He quite likes the dungeon. I believe he brought a young brunette with him last time."

Lucas frowned. "That would be Justine. She was my girlfriend for awhile."

"The senator is discreet." Julian looked at the boy with some sympathy.

"The senator is an a.s.shole," Lucas muttered. "It doesn't matter.

Let's get down to business, gentlemen. Are we having dinner, or not?

I could use a drink. The whole nearly getting run down by a crazy person thing has me on edge."

"And the being blackmailed by a spoiled brat thing has done wonders for my nerves." Julian poured another drink with a perfectly steady hand.

"I'm not giving you twenty million dollars," Jack stated flatly.

"Then I'm sure I can make money off a tabloid story about the senator's long-lost son." Lucas's bitterness was apparent in his tone.

He took a quick drink and coughed a little. Jack wasn't so sure about his reputation as a hard drinker. He would bet the drug stories were overblown, too. "You know he holds you up as paragon of virtue,

97.

Jack Barnes. You're a self-made man. I could learn a lot from you.

You had nothing, but you pulled yourself up. All it took was a little blackmail. h.e.l.l, he even admires you for that."

"I am not responsible for your relationship with your father." It was plain the boy was in need of attention, but he wasn't Jack's responsibility. He told himself that several times.

"Of course, it's all my fault." Lucas held the gla.s.s and stared into the fire.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to." Lucas's reply was simple, the answer of a boy who knew the score and knew that he was never going to change anyone's mind. "You're just like the rest of them. I don't know why I thought you might be different." He took a long drink, as though building up his courage. He managed to only wince at that last drink, Jack noticed. He turned to face the men in the room. "Here's the deal, gentlemen. If I don't get what I want, I'm prepared to sell a story to the tabloids. I intend to out Julian Lodge as James Masters, the head of the Masters Fund. I doubt anyone will want to work with a notorious s.e.x club owner."

"I don't think I'll worry too much about that. Hugh Hefner doesn't seem to be hurting for business," Julian said with an elegant sigh. "Besides, I have enough money as it is. If all my investors dry up, I'll take a nice vacation."

That seemed to rattle Lucas a little. He shook it off and turned to Jack. "Fine, maybe Lodge doesn't think he has anything to lose, but you just got married. What's your wife going to think about your past in this club? How's she going to feel knowing she married a notorious Dom?"

Jack noticed Julian hide a smile behind his hand. The boy had no idea how to handle men like them. "I wouldn't call me notorious. I was actually quite good at it. And Abigail knows what I used to do and just how I came by the seed money for my business. You can't shock her. Come by the house sometime, and I'll introduce you to her.

98.

You can tell her what you know. I think she'll be very amused." She wouldn't be amused. She would be p.i.s.sed off. Abigail could be very protective of her men. Lucas would be forced to deal with one mad little cat.

Lucas's face got hard, and, for a second, Jack wondered if he looked like that from time to time. It looked like there was some steel in the boy after all. "Fine. Then I'm sure the world would love to know about your menage. Trust me, cattle ranchers sharing their woman will be a story the world would love to hear. Couple it with the fact that you're Senator Allen Cameron's son, and your s.e.xual activities will be all over the news. I'm sure they'll believe you just share her. They won't think anything of the fact that you lived with Samuel Fleetwood for years before ever meeting Abby Moore. That business you're in is a macho business. I'm sure a couple of gay cowboys will go over like gangbusters, bro."

"Jackson."

He heard the warning in Julian's voice. He knew exactly what worried the club owner. Julian wouldn't want to have to clean up the blood that Jack was about to spill. He heard the warning, but it seemed a distant thing. What Jack could hear plainly was his blood pressure rising. It was a roar in his ears blocking out everything else.

He saw what he was going to do like a little movie in his mind. He was going to wrap his hands around Lucas Cameron's throat, and then the little s.h.i.t wouldn't be a problem to anyone anymore.

The door to the dining room flew open.

"Mr. Lodge, we have a code red in the playroom," said a breathless young woman in leather shorts and a bustier. It was obvious she had run in from the bar area. There was a buzzing coming from outside.

"Call Leo." Julian got out of his seat. He took off his jacket and slung it over the chair, as though he knew he would be getting dirty.

"Leo's involved in it. He was on the scene when it started," the woman explained. "They're fighting over two subs. The male started